A complete 360º

Well well. What can I say. As it turns out we cannot afford to build upstairs and renovate downstairs after all. Well, not without saving for another 2 or 3 years. So we have made the decision to abandon our second story plans in favour of extending and renovating the ground floor plan only. Yes, this is what we were thinking a good 2years ago - I know.

I'm actually really pleased with this decision. I was always nervous about building a second story extension onto what I consider a pleasingly proportioned californian bungalow. What if it turned our lovely little house into a not-so-lovely ill proportioned towering monstrosity (second story additions work best when the roof ridge line is parallel not perpendicular to the street)? We could never go back.

It does however mean living with a 3 bedroom rather than 4 bedroom house, and giving up more backyard than we would have liked, but ultimately we believe this to be the best solution given the funds we have at present.

I am currently getting these plans drafted up a.s.a.p. in order to get our permits as quickly as possible.

We have been consulting with builders and getting ball park quotes. It would appear the above plans are much more doable for us. However choosing a builder is a little more difficult.

But we think we have made a decision. God let it be a good one.